Guyana Defence Force

The GDF was formed on 1 November 1965. Members of the new Defence Force were drawn from the British Guiana Volunteer Force (BGVF), Special Service Unit (SSU), British Guiana Police Force (BGPF) and civilians. Training assistance was provided by British instructors.

In January 1969, the GDF faced their first test when the Rupununi Uprising, a bloody separatist movement in southern Guyana, attempted to annex the territory to Venezuela that was contained 3 days later with a balance of between 70 and 100 dead.

The GDF is an integral part of the Guyanese nation. Resources and equipment of the GDF are used to help other Guyanese; examples include medical mercy flights and the construction of roads and airstrips by the Engineering Corps.

Enlistment into the force is voluntary for officers and soldiers. Basic training is done within GDF training schools, which has also trained officers and soldiers from Commonwealth Caribbean territories. However, officers are trained at one of two British officer training schools: Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (Infantry Training) and Britannia Royal Naval College (Coast Guard Training).

The training and skills gained by the members of the GDF have been used when they move either into civilian life or into the sister military organizations, the Guyana People's Militia (now the Second Infantry Battalion Group Reserve, which numbers around 3,000 reservists) and formerly the Guyana National Service (disbanded in 2000).

• Defend the territorial integrity of Guyana.
• Assist the civil power in the maintenance of law and order when required to do so.
• Contribute to the economic development of Guyana.

GDF Force Colour

GDF Coast Guard flag

GDF Air Corps flag

• 1st Infantry Battalion Group
• 3rd Infantry Battalion
• 2nd Infantry Battalion Group Reserve (formerly the Guyana People's Militia)
• 31 Special Forces Squadron
• 21st Artillery Company
• Engineer Battalion
• Signals Corps
• Defence Headquarters
• Training Corps
• Intelligence Corps
• Coast Guard
• Band Corps
• Medical Corps
• Air Corps

Chief of Staff

•   Acting

No.	Portrait	Name (birth–death)	Term of office			Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Colonel Ronald Pope	May 1967	March 1969	1 year, 10 months	[10]
2		Brigadier Clarence Price (1922–?)	March 1969	12 July 1979	10 years, 4 months	[11]
3		Major general Norman Gordon Mc Lean (1935–?)	12 July 1979	March 1990	10 years, 7 months	[12]
4		Major general Joseph Singh (1945–?)	March 1990	April 2000	10 years, 1 month	[13]
5		Major general Michael Atherly	April 2000	31 May 2004	4 years, 1 month	[14]
6		Major general Edward Orin Collins (born 1945)	31 May 2004	2007	2–3 years	[15]
7		Rear admiral Gary Best (born 1959)	2007	September 2013	5–6 years	[16]
8		Brigadier Mark Phillips (born 1961)	September 2013	3 October 2016	3 years, 1 month	[17]
9		Brigadier George Lewis	3 October 2016	10 January 2017	99 days	[18]
10		Brigadier Patrick West	10 January 2017	1 July 2020	3 years, 173 days	[19]
11		Brigadier Godfrey Bess	1 July 2020	4 March 2021	246 days	[20][21]
			4 March 2021	Incumbent	288 days

The Defence force air wing was formed in 1968 and was then renamed the Guyana Defence force air command in 1973. Seven Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander were delivered over a five-year period in the 1970s and then were supplemented by Short Skyvans series 3Ms in 1979. In 1986 3 Mil Mi-8 were delivered. The GDF currently operates 24 fixed-wing aircraft and 24 helicopters.

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service[22]	Notes
Transport and liaison aircraft
Short Skyvan	United Kingdom	Utility transport	SC-7 Skyvan 3M	15[23]	In service since 1979.
Harbin Y-12 Panda	People's Republic of China	STOL utility transport	Y-12	2	In service since 2002.
Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander	United Kingdom	Utility transport	BN-2	7[23]	With 9 on order.
Combat Aircraft
EMB 314 Super Tucano	Brazil	light attack / COIN			2 on order.
Helicopters
Bell 206 JetRanger	United States	Utility helicopter	206B	2[23]	6 on order.
Bell 412	United States	Utility Helicopter	412SP	13	10 on order[23]
Bell 429	United States	utility	429	6	on order[23] 6 on order
RotorWay Exec 162F	United States	Light helicopter	162F	3	4 on order.

Former aircraft

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service[22]	Notes
Transport and liaison aircraft
Beechcraft Super King Air	United States	Transport and patrol aircraft	King Air 200	2	In service from 1975 to 1992.
Britten Norman Islander[24]	United Kingdom	Transport and patrol aircraft	BN-2A	7	In service from 1971 to 2001. One (8R-GES) crashed on the 15 December 1986 and another (8R-GFN) was destroyed in a crash on the 6 January 2001.[25][26]
Cessna 182	United States	Liaison aircraft	182J Skylane	1	In service from 1982 to 1994.
Cessna 206	United States	Transport and patrol aircraft	U206G Stationair	1	In service from 1975 to 1995.
Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante	Brazil	Transport aircraft	110P	1	In service from 1984 to 1994.
Helio Super Courier	United States	Liaison and patrol aircraft	H-295 Super Courier	3	In service from 1968 to 1971.
Helicopters
Aerospatiale Alouette III[27]	France	Utility helicopter	SA-319B	2	In service from 1975 to 1982.
Bell 212[28]	United States	Utility helicopter		3	In service from 1976 to 1994.
Mil Mi-8	Soviet Union	Transport and utility helicopter	Hip	8	In service from 1985 to 1991.

The Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard is the naval component of the Guyana Defence Force.

• 2 River-class minesweeper  United Kingdom - GDFS Essequibo is ex-Royal Navy Orwell (M2011) c 1985; 890 tons full load transferred to Guyana in 2001
• 54 T-44 patrol boats  United States - 18 tons full load; ex-United States Coast Guard motor lifeboats[29]
• 2 Kimbala class LCU  Netherlands
• 7 Metal Shark Boats Defiant-Class patrol boats  United States - 5 28' and 2 38'[30]

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• Official website